Educational toy for an infant,and means for actuation by the infant

ABSTRACT

AN EDUCATIONAL TOY FOR AN INFANT HAVING A PLURALITY OF BRIGHT OBJECTS AND BELLS THEREON WITH MEANS FOR RESILIENTLY MOUNTING THE TOY, AND MEANS FOR ATTACHING THE TOY TO THE INFANT FOR SELF AMUSEMENT BY THE INFANT.

Feb. 23, 1971 w. J. BUTTERMORE 3,564,759

EDUCATIONAL TOY FOR AN INFANT, AND MEANS FOR ACTUATION BY THE INFANT Filed Dec. 19. 1968 AGENT United States Patent Office US. Cl. 46--32 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An educational toy for an infant having a plurality of bright objects and bellsthereon with means for resiliently mounting the toy; and means for attaching the toy to the infant for self amusement by the infant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (I) Field of the invention The present invention relates to toys and more particularly, to toys in the form of a plurality of bright objects and bells which are loosely suspended from a frame, mounted on an infants crib for the educational benefit and amusement of the infant.

(II) Description of the prior art Many devices and toys exist which are designed to amuse infants to six months of age; however, such devices are generally suspended from a rigidly mounted, L- shaped bar and, unless physically set in motion by an adult, they provide very little distraction and amusement for the infant and are of no educational value to the infant.

It has been proposed to mount the bright objects on a frame which, in turn, is carried by a motor for rotating the same above the infant to create distraction and amusement. The motor is mounted on one end of the L-shaped bar and may be of the spring wound type, or of the battery operated type.

There are several disadvantages to these types of devices. The spring wound type generally requires the attention of an adult to constantly rewind the device after a relative short period of operation; and, while the battery operated type will function for a longer period of time, they require a higher initial cost, and a replacement of the batteries from time to time. Both of the above-mentioned devices are generally delicate and usually require repair or replacement in a relatively short period of time, and, again, are of no educational value to the infant.

It would thus be desirable to provide such a device which combines both an amusement and an educational benefit for an infant and one which does not have the disadvantages of prior devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises a toy having a first member mounted upon a crib, a second member having a plurality of bright objects and/or bells carried thereby, with a resilient member disposed between the first and second members for connecting the same; and, means for connecting the second member to an infant within said crib, whereby the movement of the infant will provide the motive force for moving the object and/or bells for the distraction, amusement, and educational benefit of the infant.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved toy for distracting and amusing an infant.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a toy in which the motive force for the same is provided by the infant.

3,564,759 Patented Feb. 23, 1971 It is also an object of this invention to provide such a toy which is inexpensive, of long life, and one which will require little maintenance.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide such a toy which has all of the hereinbefore mentioned advantages while providing an educational benefit to the infant.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art of such toys from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown:

In the drawing The single figure is a diagrammatic illustration of a toy incorporating a preferred form of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the single figure, there is shown a presentlypreferred, but merely illustrative embodiment of the inventive principles: a toy mechanism indicated by the numeral 10. The toy 10 comprises a body member 12 which is mounted upon a crib 14 by any suitable means such as the U-shaped element 16 and bolt 18 which extend therethrough and into the crib 14. It should be understood that the toy 10 may be mounted upon any suitable object which is in close proximity to the location of the infant.

The body member 12 comprises an L-shaped member 20 having tightly wound springs 22 and 24 respectively attached by any suitable means to the ends of each leg of the member 20. The spring 22 is connected to one end of a lower end member 26 of the body member 12, while the other end of the lower end member 26 is attached to the U-shaped element 16. The spring 24 is suitably connected to one end of an upper end member 28, the other end of which terminates in a receptacle 30 which is adapted to receive and support, by any suitable means, one end of loosely wound spring 32. The other end of spring 32 is secured by suitable means to a receptacle 34 formed on a stem 36 extending upwardly from the center of a frame 38.

There is movably suspended from the frame 38 a plurality of objects having means adapted to attract the attention of an infant, particularly when in motion, that is, bright, attractive objects which are pleasing to the eye of an infant, such as, but not limited to, a bell, bright bows, and other such similar objects and noise makers, all of which are schematically illustrated and indicated by the numeral 40. The objects 40 may be attached to the frame 38 by any suitable fastening means such as string 41.

The motive power for the toy is provided by connecting a portion of the mechanism to the infant. As illustrated, this may take the form of a thin, flexible connecting member or cable 42, one end of which is connected to a light spring 44; the spring 44 being connected directly to the tip of one end of the frame 38 while the other end of cable 42 is connected to the infant, either directly tied on the infant, or, as illustrated, via a bootie 46. The bootie 46 is placed on the infants foot, as illustrated at 48, whereupon any movement of the infants foot will create an alternately upwardly, downwardly, and sideways motion of the toy 10, which is disposed above the infant, with the resultant effect that the objects and bells carried by the frame 38 will be set in motion to attract the infants attention for his amusement and ensuing educational benefit.

The educational value of the instant invention can easily be appreciated as it can be seen that the infant will discover that action will result in the toy moving, and making noise, so as to amuse himself; and, that this action 3 will only result due to a particular motion by the infant, thus, the infant will be able to differentiate between his extremities and will begin to move only that extremity which will result in a motion of the toy 10.

It can thus be seen that the subject invention has provided a toy which allows the infant to accomplish a result independent of any assistance, thus making the infant aware of his individuality and self identity, and, which subsequently teaches the infant that he himself is composed of parts and that he is able to coordinate these parts and use them independently to achieve a desired goal.

It can also be seen that the present invention has provided a new and improved toy for drawing an infants attention for his amusement; which is set in motion by means of the infant; and one which is of low cost and of long life.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adapted all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An educational toy for an infant comprising: a frame, a plurality of objects, means for suspending said objects from said frame for movement relative thereto, at least one of said objects including means adapted to attract the attention of said infant upon movement of said one object; means for movably mounting said frame above said infant; and, means for fixedly attaching said frame to a limb of said infant independently of the grasp of the infant, whereby movement by said infant limb will set objects in motion for the amusement and education of said infant.

2. The toy as described in claim 1 wherein said objects comprise bright attractive objects and noise makers pleasing to an infant.

3. The toy as described in claim 1 wherein said attaching means comprises a flexible connecting member, one end of which is attached to said frame the other end of which is fixedly attached to said limb of said infant.

4. The toy as described in claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises an L-shaped element having a spring suspended from one end thereof; said frame being carried by said spring; said objects comprising a plurality of bright objects, noise makers and bells carried by said 4 frame; and, said attaching means comprising a flexible connecting member, one end of which is connected to said frame; means for connecting the other end of said flexible connecting member to said limb of said infant,

whereby the movement of said limb results in a movement of said objects and noise makers for the distraction, amusement, and education of said infant.

5. The toy as described in claim 3 said attaching means including a mechanical spring disposed intermediate the opposite ends of said connecting member.

6. The toy as described in claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises an L-shaped element having a pair of legs, one of said legs extending generally along a horizontal axis; a mechanical spring carried by said one leg at the extended end thereof; a connecting member having one end carried by said mechanical spring, the other end of said connecting member carrying said frame above said infant.

7. The toy as described in claim 6 including a second mechanical spring carried at the extended end of said other leg, said other leg extending generally along a vertical axis; a second connecting member having one end carried by said second mechanical spring; and, a clamping means carried by the other end of said second connecting member, said clamping means being adapted to attach said L-shaped element and said frame to a fixture adjacent said infant to position said frame above said infant.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 442,629 12/1890 Lipscomb 46-32UX 673,636 5/1901 Clawson 46-32 1,279,615 9/ 1918 Van Meter 46-32UX 1,749,488 3/1930 King 272-X 2,736,131 2/1956 Lewis 46-32 3,238,661 3/1966 Herer et a1. 46-32 3,290,817 12/1966 Kravath 46-32 F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 Dated 23 William J. Buttermore It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

IN THE SPECIFICATION:

Column 2, line 32, before "ends" insert -opposite--.

(Specification, page 3, line 16 see Amendment Paper No. 5,

Signed and sealed this 8th day of June 1971 (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLEICHER,JR. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR. Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

